I guess I am a bit late to the party (what else is new) but as to DragonCon, if you are presenters I think, maybe, you might be able to avoid the 4 HOUR lines to get pre-paid badges. So there's a perk right there.

BTW, I highly recommend this story (first 10 minutes or so) from George Hrab, skeptic and musician who regularly performs at D*Con: